Kevin Spacey, the Hollywood actor, plans to raise £20 million for the Old Vic
before he steps down as the artistic director of the London theatre in 2015.

Kevin Spacey steps down as the artistic director of the Old Vic in two years’ time, but he is determined to ensure that he leaves a lasting legacy.

The Hollywood actor tells Mandrake that he plans to raise £20 million before then so the theatre in south London remains on a firm financial footing.

“I’m now planning to leave in 2015 and am determined to raise £20million by then as an endowment fund to make the theatre fit for the 21st century,” Spacey says.

“We can then use the £20million to give us £1million-a-year income to help refurbish the theatre – like more ladies loos and more bar room.”

The Oscar-winning actor, who starred in American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, was appointed by the Old Vic in 2003, to the bemusement of some critics. He said he wanted to inject new life into British theatre. He has appeared in one or two shows per season and directed other productions.

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In 2008, he was awarded a special award for rejuvenating what was the home of the National Theatre until it moved into its current premises on the South Bank in 1976.

Recalling when some critics were “asking me to pack my bags and get the hell out of town,” Spacey said: “I can’t quite believe what has happened to the Old Vic.”

A decade earlier, it went though a period of deep uncertainty after being put up for sale. Suggestions were mooted to turn it into a theme pub or bingo hall, but after a public outcry it was bought by a charitable trust in 2000.

Last week, Spacey turned the premiere of his latest film, House of Cards, into a fundraiser for the Old Vic. The film is an American version of the classic television trilogy starring the late Ian Richardson as the Machiavellian politician Francis Urquhart.

“This is where it all began with that great BBC drama,” Spacey said at the premiere at the Odeon West End in London.